


Pigeons in the Night

by onemechanicalalligator



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pigeon, Bicycles, F/M, Getting Together, M/M, Multiple Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26917432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onemechanicalalligator/pseuds/onemechanicalalligator
Summary: A set of vignettes: the same scenario with six different pairings.
Relationships: Abed Nadir/Britta Perry, Abed Nadir/Jeff Winger, Abed Nadir/Rich Stephenson, Dean Craig Pelton/Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes/Annie Edison, Troy Barnes/Britta Perry
Comments: 38
Kudos: 58





	1. Jeff/Abed

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

Jeff Winger is riding his bicycle through what seems to be a deserted area when he is suddenly hit in the head by something frantic and feathery. He throws his hands up to protect his head, momentarily forgetting about the handlebars. The bike falls over with a crash, and Jeff with it, and the pigeon makes a sarcastic cooing sound before flying away in a huff. Jeff lays in the street and tries to get his bearings.

His palms are a little scraped up, and he’s furious to see that his $300 Italian jeans are ripped at the knees. Other than that, he seems to be pretty much okay, but he’s not quite ready to move. He’s vaguely aware that he’s still in the middle of the road, but he can’t be bothered to do anything about it yet except hope no cars drive up.

* * *

A few yards away, Abed Nadir watches as a pigeon knocks a very tall, very handsome man off of his bicycle. He wonders if he should do something, but he’s not sure how to react in this situation, so he waits. He watches, concerned, as the pigeon flies away and the man lays there unmoving. There are no cars around, but he’s still  _ in the middle of the road. _

Abed walks slowly over, then kneels down next to him.

“Hi,” he says. “Are you hurt?”

“Just my pride,” Jeff grumbles. “And my designer jeans.”

Abed grins.

“Do you need medical assistance?” he asks. “Your hands are bleeding. I don’t like doctors, but I can take you to one if you really need to go. Otherwise, I live around the corner and I have plenty of band-aids and antiseptic ointment.”

* * *

Jeff isn’t really in need of medical attention, but he’s intrigued by this man who has appeared seemingly out of thin air to assist him.

“I’ll take you up on the band-aids,” Jeff says. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing,” the man says. “My name is Abed, by the way.”

“Jeff,” says Jeff. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Abed murmurs. “My apartment is that one,” he adds, pointing. “I’ll carry your bike.”

Jeff tries to protest, but Abed picks it up with one hand and tucks it under his elbow. Jeff is impressed by the strength in those skinny arms. 

“I’m surprised I’ve never run into you before,” Jeff says, trying to be casual. “I don’t live too far from here.”

“I’ve seen you, I think,” Abed says, not looking at him. “At the grocery store. You like expensive scotch.”

* * *

Abed wants to kick himself for admitting to spying on Jeff at the grocery store, but when he glances at him out of the corner of his eye, Jeff looks...pleased?

They get to Abed’s apartment and he lets Jeff inside and shows him to the bathroom, gets the first aid kit out from under the sink and pulls out everything Jeff might need.

“I can give you some privacy,” Abed says, and turns towards the door.

“Stay,” Jeff replies, putting a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. “If you don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Abed says. “In that case, let me do that.” 

Abed takes the first aid kit back from Jeff and gestures for him to sit down on the closed lid of the toilet. He carefully cleans and dresses the abrasions on Jeff’s hands, and then checks his knees and cleans those up, too. 

“Thank you,” Jeff says quietly. “You didn’t have to.”

Abed shrugs. “I wanted to. Can I get you anything? Water? Tea?”

“Tea would be nice,” Jeff says. 

* * *

Tea turns into wine, and wine turns into tipsy, and tipsy turns into Jeff deciding to crash on Abed’s couch, and Jeff deciding to crash on Abed’s couch turns into Jeff waking up in Abed’s bed.

One year later, Jeff and Abed wake up together in  _ their _ bed. In  _ their _ apartment.

All because of a pigeon.


	2. Troy/Annie

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

Troy Barnes didn’t want to ride his bicycle today, but his car is in the shop. Now it’s late, and quiet, and creepy, and just as he starts to think about all of the potential horror movie scenarios that could be surrounding him  _ at this very moment, _ there’s a weird sound and a bunch of flapping and something hits him off his bike and onto the ground. 

He looks around from where he’s laying and sees someone running towards him.

* * *

Annie Edison watches the whole thing play out. The pigeon dives down and smacks right into the head of the boy on the bike, sending him flying. Before she has time to even think about it, she’s running towards him and pigeon, swinging her purse like a crazy person.

“Bad bird!” she screams. “Bad bird!” 

She flings her purse at the pigeon and it jumps back and forth a few times,  _ glaring at her, _ before finally flying away. Annie huffs and puffs, irritated she couldn’t teach it some kind of lesson, even though somewhere in her mind she recognizes that this is ridiculous, and it’s a  _ pigeon. _

* * *

Troy stares in awe as the girl tries to  _ fight the pigeon.  _ When it finally flies away, she turns to him, scowling.

“It got away,” she says. “Sorry.”

“Uh, yeah,” Troy replies. “What did you expect? Were you going to…” He lowers his voice. “... _ murder it?” _

“Okay, first of all, it would be  _ vengeance,  _ not  _ murder,” _ she says. “Second of all, I don’t know. Probably not. But are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I think.” He brushes his palms on his jeans. “I’m Troy, by the way,” he adds, holding out one hand.

“Annie,” the girl says, shaking it. “It’s very nice to meet you. Although, I’m sorry you almost got killed by a pigeon.”

“Me too,” Troy says. “But it looks like everything turned out fine. Could I, uh, buy you a drink? To thank you for almost saving my life?”

Annie blushes. “Sure,” she giggles. “I’ve got nowhere to be.”

* * *

He takes her to his favorite bar, and they’re three drinks in before they realize they went to high school together, though they didn’t know each other at the time.

They share stories and memories. They talk about bicycles and pigeons. They share an Uber home, and they stop at Troy’s place first, and Annie gets out too.

In the morning, Annie makes pancakes.

All because of a pigeon.


	3. Britta/Abed

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

Britta Perry rides her bike down a deserted street when something smacks her in the head, knocking her into the road. She sits there for a minute, dazed. Next to her, a pigeon coos a few times and then flies away.

She lays her head on the pavement and groans. It’s a good thing there are no cars out tonight. She’s annoyed, and tired, and frustrated.

“Are you okay?” The man who has materialized on her other side is tall, dark, and handsome. “Are you able to get up?”

“I’m fine,” Britta says absently. She’s hypnotized by his large brown eyes. “Thank you, though.”

The man takes a step back and lets Britta get up on her own. She appreciates that.

* * *

Abed Nadir can tell this isn’t the type of woman who needs a man to do things for her -- if that kind of woman even  _ exists  _ outside of the movies. So he doesn’t reach out a hand to help her up, he just waits patiently as she does it herself.

“I’m Abed,” he says, when she and her bicycle are both fully upright again.

“Britta,” she says, and shakes his hand.

“Do you need help with anything?” Abed asks.

“Not a thing,” Britta replies.

“Can I buy you dinner, then?” he asks, surprising himself. He must’ve gotten lost in her beauty. “Or you can pay, if you’d prefer.”

“Let’s go Dutch,” Britta says. “Show me the way.”

They each buy their own dinner, and their own coffee and dessert afterwards. That night, they each go to sleep in their own beds.

* * *

Britta calls Abed the next day and asks him on another date.

“Will there be pigeons and bicycles involved?” he asks seriously on the phone.

“I mean, I can’t make any promises,” Britta says. “But with luck, no.”

“Can I pay for you this time?” he asks carefully.

“Can I pay for you the next time?” Britta asks, and then winces.

“Oh, so there’s going to be a next time?” Abed says, and Britta can hear him grinning. She relaxes.

“I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?” She’s trying to sound casual and mysterious, but she’s not sure it comes across that way.

It doesn’t matter. The date is awesome, and at the end of the night, she agrees to let him pay.

* * *

And there  _ is  _ a next time. 

And many more after that.

All because of a pigeon.


	4. Dean/Jeff

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

It all happens so fast. Craig Pelton is biking down what appears to be an empty street, minding his own business, keeping his eyes on the road while he plans his outfit for tomorrow. And then two things happen at almost the same time.

From one side, he sees another bicycle approach, getting ready to pass him. He takes his eye off the road for a split second, distracted by the  _ insanely attractive _ gentleman on the bike.

As this happens, something smacks him in the head from the other side, throwing him completely off balance and knocking both him and the hot guy next to him off of their bikes and onto the road. Craig lets out a high-pitched squeal and then claps a gravelly hand over his mouth as the man stares at him, silent.

Next to them, a pigeon ruffles its feathers and flies away.  _ So that’s what hit me, _ Craig thinks.

“Are you okay?” he exclaims, turning to the man as he spits out a rock and brushes his hand off on his pants. “I’m so sorry! That pigeon came out of nowhere, I didn’t even see it fly up, and then all of a sudden it was all feathers and bicycles--”

“I’m fine,” the man says. He stretches his hands up over his head, and Craig tries not to stare at his beautifully sculpted abs.

* * *

Jeff Winger definitely didn’t expect his day to turn into a pigeon-induced bike wreck, but here he is. He puts his arms down by his sides when he notices the guy who hit him staring, although he does it a little slower than he needs to. He kind of likes that someone’s looking.

“Can I, um…” the small, bald man says. “Is there anything I can do to express my regret for knocking you off your bike? I feel just terrible!” The man is waving his hands in the air, gesturing wildly, and Jeff can’t figure out why he’s so charmed by this. Why he cares at all. Why he’s even still  _ here. _ His bike is clearly still functional.

“No, seriously, I’m fine,” Jeff says, but he catches the man’s gaze and doesn’t look away.

“I’m Craig,” the man says kindly.

“Jeff.” Jeff holds out his hand.

“Short for Jeffrey?” Craig asks, taking it with a surprisingly firm hand and shaking.

“Yes?” Jeff raises an eyebrow.

“I’ve just always loved that name.” Craig shrugs. “Anyway, Jeffrey, please let me buy you a drink. It’s the least I can do. There’s a bar up the street.”

“Fine,” Jeff says, before he can even think about it, before he can consider saying no. He doesn’t  _ want _ to say no.

They lock their bikes outside a small bar, order, and take their drinks outside.

* * *

They spend hours at the bar, each nursing a single drink. They talk. A lot. Craig is delighted to find that Jeffrey is as funny and interesting as he is handsome, and it feels like no time has passed before it starts to get dark.

He thinks about asking Jeffrey to come back to his place. Then he decides that’s too forward. He wonders if it would be okay to ask for his number, or if Craig should just write his own down and pass it to him. He wonders if that would be weird. He wonders if he’s going to chicken out and then he’ll never get to see Jeffrey again at all. He wonders--

“Would you, uh, like to come back to my place?” Jeffrey asks, almost shyly, interrupting Craig’s frantic thoughts.

“I’d love to,” he breathes.

“Let’s walk our bikes,” Jeffrey says. “In case of falling pigeons. It’s not far.”

* * *

They spend a night together, and then a few more. And then a few more.

There are a few months in there where it’s a little touch and go, and they’re on-again-off-again until Craig buys Jeffrey a stuffed pigeon to say  _ I’m sorry,  _ and Jeff is holding an identical one behind his back, waiting to say the same thing to Craig, and it’s stupid, silly, movie-level cute.

They move in together not long after.

Two years after the bike wreck, they get married.

All because of a pigeon.


	5. Rich/Abed

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

Abed Nadir is flying down the road on his bike, because he likes the way the cool air feels on his face and hands, and there’s no one else to worry about on the road. He feels a bit like he’s flying, and it’s exhilarating and exciting and  _ fun. _

He notices the pigeon -- they make  _ eye contact _ \-- the instant before it smacks him in the head, sending him swerving into the side of the road and ultimately knocking him completely off the bike. Abed hits the ground with a crash, and his bike somehow manages to fall on top of him, and there’s a sharp pain in his wrist that gives him a sinking feeling in his stomach. He thinks hopes it isn't broken. He  _ hates _ doctors. 

He closes his eyes and lets his body go slack. He wants to put off thinking about it for as long as possible, and he’s off to the side now so there’s no danger of getting hit by a car. He thinks he’ll just take a few minutes to --

“Hey there! Are you okay?”

* * *

Rich Stephenson is walking down the deserted street when he notices a bicycle laying on the side of the road. He speeds up his pace when he realizes there’s a  _ person _ underneath that bicycle. He hurries over and calls out to see if the person is okay.

“I’m fine,” comes a man’s voice. “Actually, that’s not true. I might not be fine. I’m alive, though.”

“I can help you,” Rich says, grabbing the bicycle and lifting it off the man, who is thin and striking with dark brown hair. “I’m a doctor.”

“I hate doctors,” the man says, and then winces. “Sorry. That was rude. I don’t always remember to think before I speak.

“That’s okay,” Rich says. “A lot of people hate doctors. My name is Rich, by the way.”

“I’m Abed,” the man says. “And I guess I hate doctor’s offices and medical procedures more than I hate the actual doctors. Maybe.”

“Then you’re not going to like what I have to say,” Rich says. “I think you should get that wrist looked at.”

Rich watches as Abed looks down and notices how swollen it is already. Sees the way he cringes.

* * *

It’s swollen, and it  _ hurts, _ and this man is a doctor, so Abed does the only logical thing.

“Could you look at it?” he asks. “So I don’t have to go to an office or a hospital?”

Rich raises an eyebrow and then grins, and Abed notices his dimples. They’re cute. He’s cute.

“I live around the corner,” Rich says. “Come on over to my place. I have some medical supplies there. I’d be happy to take a look.”

Abed nods, and Rich holds out a hand to help him stand up. Then he picks up the bike and starts walking toward his house, and Abed thinks he should offer to carry it, but he can’t, not really, not with his wrist the way it is. So he just follows Rich.

* * *

Rich examines Abed carefully, cleaning up his cuts and scrapes and then looking at his wrist, asking Abed to move it this way and that, feeling around. He comes to the conclusion that it isn’t broken, just sprained, and he wraps it up in an ace bandage and gives Abed an ice pack.

“You’re going to be fine,” he says. “You might want to have a doctor look at that in a week or two, though.”

“If  _ you _ look at it in a week or two, I promise to buy you a drink afterwards,” Abed says, his eyes wide.

“You  _ really _ hate doctors,” Rich muses.

“It’s not just that,” Abed admits. “I like  you.”

“Oh,” Rich says, caught off guard. “Well. I like you too. And I promise to look at it in a week or two _if_ you’ll have a drink with me right now.”

Abed follows him out to the kitchen and sits on a stool as Rich opens a beer for each of them.

“How did you fall off your bike, anyway?” Rich asks.

“I got hit in the head by a deranged pigeon,” Abed explains, and Rich can’t help but laugh.

“To pigeons, then,” he says, raising his bottle.

“To doctors,” Abed says, biting his lip and smiling.

* * *

The next morning, Abed walks his bike home.

A week later, Rich checks Abed’s wrist and they have a drink at a bar in town.

Two weeks after that, Rich takes the bandage off and they have two drinks to celebrate.

All because of a pigeon.


	6. Troy/Britta

It’s after dark, and the streets are nearly empty. A person rides a bicycle leisurely down the middle of the road. No one expects a pigeon to suddenly come hurtling down from the sky.

* * *

Britta Perry is riding her bike down the road when she sees another person on a bicycle approaching. She glances back and notices that he is both attractive and smiling, and she grins to herself in response. She wonders if she should try talking to him.

Just as he’s almost beside her, something smacks her on the head, knocking her off her bicycle and onto the pavement. She feels something heavy flapping around in her hair, and she instinctively throws her arms over her head. She hears a cooing sound. It’s a pigeon!

“Hold on,” calls a voice -- presumably the boy on the bike. “I’m gonna help you!”

Britta hears the loud clanging sound of a bicycle being dropped on the ground, and then she hears footsteps. She turns her head to see the boy kneeling next to her.

“Are you--” he begins, when suddenly the pigeon shoots out of Britta’s hair and straight into the boy’s face. He starts to shriek.

Britta jumps up, trying to think of what to do, when the pigeon finally flies away. The boy is sitting on the ground looking traumatized, and Britta is sure her hair looks like a rat’s nest. Not exactly how she pictured this meeting going.

“Are you okay?” she asks, holding out a hand.

The boy takes it and lets her help him stand. He shakes himself out and brushes gravel off of his jeans.

“I’m fine,” he says. “My name is Troy, by the way.”

“I’m Britta. Nice to meet you.” They shake hands again.

“So that was--” Troy says.

“What a crazy--” Britta says at the same time. They laugh.

“Do you, uh, want to go get coffee?” Troy asks. “I keep thinking that bird is gonna come back. There’s a cafe around the corner, and I’m assuming it’s pigeon-free.”

“Sure,” Britta says, pleased.

* * *

They stay at the coffee shop so long they end up ordering dinner there, too. It turns out they have a lot in common, besides being irresistible targets for demented pigeons. Troy slides his phone number across the table and Britta puts it straight into her phone.

They talk until the cafe closes and they’re forced to go their separate ways, but Troy walks Britta to her bike and gives her a kiss on the cheek. She promises to call him the next day so they can get together.

* * *

They do get together the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that. They fall into a comfortable routine, and it’s not long before Troy is kissing Britta on the mouth, and she’s kissing back.

* * *

They decided to let things progress. 

All because of a pigeon.


End file.
